AFM studies of electron-stimulated desorption process of KBr(001) surface

Electron stimulated desorption of the KBr(001) surface due to 1 keV electron bombardment was investigated in an ultra-high vacuum by means of non-contact atomic force microscopy. Characteristic structures like rectangular holes of monolayer depth and small agglomerations of atoms were observed. The dependence of the structure size and density was measured as a function of the electron dose. Analysis of the experimental data indicates that the process of desorption occurs in a layer-by-layer mode and that the efficiency of the process was influenced by the surface topography.